2009 News Archive

87 players participated. Ying Wang, newest resident to the Dallas area, won $300 in Singles Class A, defeating Yijun Feng ($200) 3-0 in the final. Nelson Ramos ($100) and Andrew Chen were semi-finalists. International participants included players from Monterrey, Mexico.

Groundbreaking story of Paul Jerde's brain injury recovery through table tennis. After being hit by a truck in June 2008, Paul suffered severe head injury with no speech capabilities and limited mobility. His occupational therapist recommended ping-pong as therapy. Coach Donna worked with Paul, who was able to hold his paddle and hit balls while his wife Patty and son Buzz encouraged him during sessions.

Coach Daniel was invited to participate in a Paralympic Sports Clinic. Coach Daniel and U.S. Paralympic players Pam Fontaine and James Segrest demonstrated how table tennis is played for disabled players. Over 20 athletes participated in this multi-sport event organized by UTA Movin' Mavs.

More than 90 players participated in 14+ different events. Andrew Chen won the championship, defeating James Rautis in the finals. Rick Carlisle, Dallas Mavericks Head Coach, made a surprise appearance to watch the competition. Donna Chen was recognized with an award for her 15+ years of dedication to table tennis in the DFW area.

USA Table Tennis Team swept 10 medals (6 gold, 2 silver, 2 bronze) at the most important Regional Table Tennis competition. Team USA finished 2nd in overall Gold medal count. Mitchell Seidenfeld and Pamela Fontaine received "ITTF PTT 2009 Best Players of the American Region" Awards. Coach Daniel Rutenberg served as Head Coach.

Coaches Donna and Daniel participated in the kick-off of the 2009 CHS Ping-Pong Club season with over 50 students. They made an exhibition demonstrating how table tennis is played and involved students in activities. This was CHS's second year showing determination and interest in the sport.

Donna and Daniel were invited to GENBAND in Plano to kick-off their 1st company-wide ping-pong tournament. About 30 employees spent their lunch time with DFWTT. The exhibition included demonstrations with mini and oversized paddles, and DFWTT gave away a brand new paddle as a door prize.

Team Dallas won 10 out of 12 possible medals in table tennis competition! Under Coach Daniel Rutenberg's leadership, the 10-player team won 4 Gold medals, 3 Silver medals, and 3 Bronze medals. Athletes played in Singles and Doubles in 13-14 and 15-16 age categories. Thanks to JOOLA USA for their continued support.

Coach Rutenberg was recognized by Marlon Vite, a cadet player from Ecuador. Daniel helped Marlon from the sidelines at the US Open in Las Vegas to secure 2nd place in the U-1750 rating event. The story was featured in Ecuador's "Opinion Deportiva" newspaper.

Coach Daniel Rutenberg participated at the US Open Table Tennis Championship with over 650 domestic and international players competing for over $29,000 in prize money. Thomas Keinath (Slovakia) won Men's Singles, while Gao Jun (USA) won Women's Singles. Texas was well represented with over 40 players, including 20+ from the DFW area.

More than 80 players participated on 17 professional Butterfly tables. Wang Shuai won the Sanctioned Open Division Class A, defeating Simhsay Tongkhuya 3-0. The defending doubles champions Sara Fu and Eddy James Young defeated Roger Blydes and Carlito Almirol in this year's tournament.

Daniel Rutenberg was highlighted and quoted throughout a Dallas Morning News article about table tennis making a comeback as a fun and inexpensive sport, especially during economic times. Club members Don Isgitt and Adam Moussa were also featured, along with coverage of the 2009 Spring Tournament.

Donna Chen and Daniel Rutenberg spent an afternoon demonstrating table tennis at the newest resort-like retirement community. About 35 people attended and participated in the clinic, with many questions about the sport and lots of playing time.

After several weeks of outstanding matches, the 2009 DFWTT Club Championship concluded. Over 40 players participated on Mondays and Fridays. Class A champion was Kareem Moussa, followed by Wally Devereaux in 2nd place. Class B champion was Charlie Olisa, with Stan Vosburgh as runner-up.

Brandon Gardner from Birdville High School won the championship! 17 students representing Birdville HS, Greenhill School, JJ Pearce HS, McKinney Boyd HS, Rockwall Heath HS, Southlake Carroll, and St. Marks School of Dallas played singles and doubles. The tournament doubled the number of participating schools from the previous year.

Coach Daniel Rutenberg visited Southlake Carroll High School for a table tennis clinic and exhibition. Over 60 kids from the 9th grade participated as part of their PE class. Students were divided into various groups for different skills and table tennis-related activities.

Coach Daniel Rutenberg was recognized by Marlon Vite, a 13-year-old Cadet Player from Ecuador's National Team. Daniel had helped Marlon from the sidelines in past US Open tournaments. The recognition was featured in "Opinion Deportiva" of Machala, Ecuador.

Donna Chen and Daniel Rutenberg did a clinic and exhibition at JJ Pearce HS. They were delighted to have one of the Principals in attendance along with students. The support of the Principal and school showed strong commitment to this extracurricular activity.

More than 25 athletes participated in tryouts for Team Dallas to participate at the JCC Maccabi Games 2009 in August. Daniel Rutenberg served as Team Dallas table tennis head coach.

Wang Shuai won the 2009 tournament! Over 120 table tennis athletes from Austin, Houston, Wichita Falls, Oklahoma, California, Tyler, and DFW participated. Competition was held on 19 Butterfly tournament tables in 16 different categories. DFWTT donated $2 per player to Rainbow Days, a non-profit children's educational organization.

DFWTT launched its charity program, making a $2 donation for each participant at DFWTT tournaments to non-profit children's educational organizations. By the end of 2009, DFWTT had contributed $1,514 total to various causes.